One of the
major reasons people from all over the world travel to India is to experience the
unique and renowned wildlife. But the veil has been lifted on the physical and psychological
abuse endured by elephants who are forced to give tourists rides, and it's
tarnishing the country's reputation.

It's been
revealed that trainers beat elephants with weapons and traumatise these gentle
giants with a life of distressing work, violence, neglected injuries, malnourishment,
dehydration, and routine chaining. In fact, one foreign tourist recently filed
an official cruelty complaint after witnessing trainers assault an elephant for
10 minutes after the suffering animal tried to escape at the Amber Fort near
Jaipur, Rajasthan. Even though the majority of Indians are Hindus, who deem
elephants sacred and worship Lord Ganesha, in the tourist industry, life for
these animals consists of fear and agony. Those whose open wounds cause them pain
or whose vision is impaired aren't even allowed to rest. They're forced to
carry humans on their backs in the oppressive heat by men who threaten them
with rods and ankuses (sticks with a sharp metal hook at the end.

Tourists don't
come to India with the intention of harming wildlife, but elephant rides are
inherently cruel. An inspection authorised by the Animal Welfare Board of India
and conducted by veterinarians and experts from PETA, Animal Rahat, Wildlife
SOS, and the Centre for Studies on Elephants at the College of Veterinary and
Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, revealed that emaciated elephants with painful foot problems
were used for rides and housed on hard, concrete floors – and sometimes chained
with spiked hobbles. Mahouts even pierced some animals' sensitive ears and
drilled holes into their tusks, maiming them for life. The inspection also
found invalid ownership certificates, in apparent violation of
animal-protection laws.

Even though
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, prohibits the capturing of elephants,
these sacred animals are torn away from their families in nature, beaten into
submission, and made to carry tourists against their will as slaves. Elephants
are highly social animals who spend their entire lives with their families in
the wild. They can walk up to 50 kilometres per day to forage for food, work together to solve problems,
and rely on the wisdom, judgement, and experience of their eldest relatives.

It's time to protect India's sacred wildlife and
to put an end to inhumane elephant rides. You can help by sending a message to
the Minister of Tourism.

[DMV1]Tourism
ministry cannot take any legal action on elephant rides for two reasons- one,
tourism is a state matter and center can’t intervene, secondly only MoEF&CC
can take decisions related to wildlife/ animals. Moreover, elephant rides are
allowed/ organsied by wildlife department.